Dishes you -have- to eat at the restaurant

[Jason Perlow]

I know this sounds like a pretty stupid topic -- virtually all food should really be eaten immediately after cooking. But I'm talking about dishes that so severely degrade during the ride home that its almost pointless ordering for take-out or delivery.

Case in point -- General Tso's Chicken, or one of its derivatives, such as Sesame Chicken, Orange Beef ,etc. -- those Chinese dishes that are deep fried and sauteed, that have a total effective crispyness life of about 10 minutes, and will instantly degrade into a mushy, clumpy mess if you put them in a delivery container and steam enters the picture. Its an amazing dish when you eat it at your favorite Chinese restaurant, when it comes right out of the wok all glazed and crispy -- but after a 5 minute ride to your house in a delivery container, its glop.

What other dishes are like that? In some sense, you could also say that about pizza.

[rlibkind]

Fondue.

Deep-fried Mars Bars.

Baked Alaska.

Corn dogs.

Cotton candy.

[KatieLoeb]

Deep fried anything gets soggy pretty fast

Some Pizza (DiLorenzo's Hudson Street being my best example)

Anything breaded is better right away

Anything battered is better right away (never order Fish n' Chips for later)

Salads

Almost all desserts

These dishes are the karmic balance for all those things like soups and stews and chili that are better the next day.

[OnigiriFB]

Sushi. I've had sushi that has sat for a bit but nothing beats sitting at the bar and having the chef hand you a plate he made 10 seconds ago.

[rlibkind]

Anything battered is better right away (never order Fish n' Chips for later)

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There is a partial exception to this rule. Some fish can be deep or pan fried, then marinated and served cold. Herring, for example. But fish served this way generally is just lightly coated with flour, not battered, so I take it back: you're right on target when you talk about "anything battered".

[Jason Perlow]

Sushi. I've had sushi that has sat for a bit but nothing beats sitting at the bar and having the chef hand you a plate he made 10 seconds ago.

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I think it depends on the type of sushi. Most straightforward maki rolls travel home pretty well, provided you eat them right away. If you throw it in the fridge, sushi deteriorates quickly, though, because the rice gets hard.

[spaghetttti]

A grilled cheese sandwich.

[OnigiriFB]

Sushi. I've had sushi that has sat for a bit but nothing beats sitting at the bar and having the chef hand you a plate he made 10 seconds ago.

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I think it depends on the type of sushi. Most straightforward maki rolls travel home pretty well, provided you eat them right away. If you throw it in the fridge, sushi deteriorates quickly, though, because the rice gets hard.

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I don't know I like maki when the rice is still a little bit warm. So for me it still taste better right from the sushi chef.

[petite tête de chou]

Milkshakes, hot fudge sundaes and ice cream cones.

[rjwong]

chocolate soufflé

Chinese "Sizzling Hot Plate" dishes (okay, those are more for in-restaurant theatrics)

[Daniel]

Spaghetttti,

I couldnt agree more.. There is nothing more upsetting then getting a soggy grill cheese... I can see pulling off the aluminum container with the water dripping from the top lid.. The cheese has reformed, making it cold and thick, the bread is wet.. Ugh... It then needs to be heavily salted and dipped in ketchup to save..

A tie for me is French Fries.. Delivered fries, all starched and cold.. Nothing is worse.. If I get them delivered I have the oven already on waiting to reheat..

The second I get my food delivered, I take all the tops off the food to stop that horrible steaming process..

Cesar Salad is up there on the do not dilly dally list..

Edited January 6, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[saltylicious]

Salt & Pepper Squid. They turn rubbery, soggy and so sad if not eaten immediately

Fried Chicken Wings aka Seagull Wings from the local pho cafe.

[Jujubee]

I've gotten delivery from a bunch of places that poke holes into the tops of containers of fried food. Not as good as fresh, but takes care of the soggy condensation problem.

[bilrus]

Naan. Even reheating in the oven doesn't work because it ends up too crisp and over cahrred.

[jsolomon]

Frickles, draft beer--you just HAVE to drink that stuff there, elsewise you'll hit a bump and spill it--ditto for flaming drinks, reubens and any other grilled sandwich, BLT's unless you like your tomato soaking through everything and then sliding out the backside, medium rare steaks also travel remarkably poorly.

[jilli42]

Gai phuket - crispy chicken stir fried with onions, chili & basil.

So good hot out of the kitchen, not quite as good at home. But if I do take some home, I eat the leftovers cold. Reheating it makes it taste horrible !

Daniel, I am with you on the fries..

Eggrolls

Quesadillas

Tacquitos

Any type pf pressed sandwich; pannini, cuban... just not as good once the bread loses it's crisp.

[BarbaraY]

Samosas. They have to be freshly cooked or the pastry gets soggy.

I'm not mentioning the ones made with filo dough. I want the ones with real hand made pastry. (Hmmm? Maybe I should make some.)

[philadining]

The classic Philly Cheesesteak might be one of the most extreme examples of this, especially wit' Whiz. It's pretty sublime seconds off the grill, but it starts getting pretty bad pretty fast. I don't like them wrapped at all, just open on a piece of wax paper. That's the beauty of the dumpy little take-out stands, you can be eating the thing 30 seconds after it's off the grill.

Jumping cuisines, I just had some Roti Canai at a Malaysian place the other night, and it's amazing, I was making quick work of it, but it was significantly better at the beginning than it was maybe 5 minutes later when I finished it. (Roti Canai is a really thin crepe-like pancake, served with a curry dipping sauce. For a few minutes, it has an amazing elastic-yet-crispy thing going on.)

And of course, there's tempura...

(fixed typo)

Edited January 6, 2006 by philadining (log)

[Toasted]

Anything in a cream sauce. It starts to seperate and looks disgusting and you can't even believe you paid $15.00 bucks for it.

[rooftop1000]

toasted roll at my office cafeteria...they wrap the plates in plastic

poor little squishy roll

tracey

[avocado]

In Las Vegas, sushi restaurants refuse to do takeout because the quality degrades too quickly in the heat. This might be the case in other warm climates too, but we learned in the hard way in Vegas.

[KatieLoeb]

Salt & Pepper Squid. They turn rubbery, soggy and so sad if not eaten immediately

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I dunno. I've managed to eat leftover S&P squid by wrapping them in a bit of foil and heating them in the toaster oven for a few minutes. They aren't perfect, but much better than a lot of other leftovers that can't be resurrected at all.

[rjwong]

And of course, there's tempura...

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I agree, philadining. One of my top restaurant meals from last year was at a tempura bar. There's nothing & nobody in the way between you and the chef who just deep-fried a shrimp tempura that's immediately placed on your plate, ready to be consumed.

[miladyinsanity]

Jumping cuisines, I just had some Roti Canai at a Malaysian place the other night, and it's amazing, I was making quick work of it, but it was significantly better at the beginning than it was maybe 5 minutes later when I finished it. (Roti Canai is a really thin crepe-like pancake, served with a curry dipping sauce. For a few minutes, it has an amazing elastic-yet-crispy thing going on.)

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Chuck it in a toaster oven if you takeaway it home. Works every time--but not so well for the chewier and more elastic Malaysian-style ones.

[misstenacity]

Banh Xeo

Andrea

http://tenacity.net